Centralize photos and descriptions in one place
When managing several nearly identical accommodations, duplicating photos and descriptions over and over can be tedious and error-prone. With shared galleries, you only need to create the content once and assign it to all identical accommodations. This ensures consistency, avoids duplicates, and keeps your web more organized.
Key Definitions
Shared Gallery: a set of photos and descriptions assigned to several identical accommodations.
Channel Manager: a tool that manages the connection between your accommodations and booking portals.
Advantages of using shared galleries
Saves time by not duplicating information.
Consistency in photos and descriptions for identical accommodations.
Quick updates: change once, reflected in all.
Clearer presentation on your web page: identical accommodations are shown as a single listing in the search.
When can you share a gallery?
This feature is designed for accommodations with the same characteristics and rates.
Practical Example: if you have four identical studios in the same building, you only need to create one gallery of photos and descriptions. That gallery is then assigned to the other studios, without needing to repeat the process.
Requirements for sharing the gallery
The accommodations must match in:
Location
Type (e.g., villa, studio, apartment)
Number of bedrooms
Being in the same building or complex
Step by step: how to share a gallery
Create the first accommodation with all its features, rates, photos, and descriptions.
Duplicate the accommodations of the same type (for example, the "Carlos" accommodation is duplicated in the others).
When duplicating, the system automatically assigns the original rate and gallery.
If you have created accommodations from scratch (instead of duplicating them), you can manually assign them to the same gallery.
From the accommodations section, select the new accommodation and select Assign gallery.
Or, go to the gallery list and, in the Accommodations without photos and descriptions section, select the chain icon.
Choose "Assign an already created photo gallery."
Click on "+Assign" in the corresponding gallery.
Repeat the process with all accommodations that meet the requirements.
Once finished, all your identical accommodations will share the same gallery of photos and descriptions.
How to identify a shared gallery
In the VRMS, check the accommodation's gallery and you will see the other properties listed in the same gallery.
In the Channel Manager, shared galleries appear with the house icon.
Hover over or click on that icon to see all the accommodations using that gallery.
In the Channel PRO, for portals that are not Booking.com or Expedia, only one accommodation will be visible in the list. The main one that gathers the rest assigned to that shared gallery.
What if you want to unassign an accommodation from a shared gallery?
It's simple:
Click on the clip icon to unassign the accommodation.
The accommodation will reappear in the "Accommodations without photos and descriptions" section.
Attention to details
If the gallery only has one assigned accommodation and you unassign it, the entire gallery with all its photos and texts will be deleted. Use with caution.
It's important to note that if the accommodation is connected to Channel PRO, you must deactivate the accommodation first before unassigning the galleries, to avoid errors with the portals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I edit the shared gallery?
What happens if I edit the shared gallery?
The changes will automatically apply to all accommodations assigned to that gallery.
Can I share a gallery between accommodations in different locations?
Can I share a gallery between accommodations in different locations?
No. It's only possible if they meet all the requirements (same location, type, bedrooms, and building).
Can I separate an accommodation without affecting the others?
Can I separate an accommodation without affecting the others?
Yes, as long as there is more than one accommodation assigned. If there is only one, the gallery is deleted when unassigned.
How do I know which accommodations are in the same gallery?
How do I know which accommodations are in the same gallery?
Open the gallery of one of the accommodations and see those listed in the same. Or in the Channel Manager, look for the house icon that marks shared galleries and indicates the associated accommodation IDs.